(Credit: Imago)

Jack Dawson

Sat 7 February 2026 10:30, UK

Nottingham Forest were embarrassed on Friday as Leeds United cruised to a simple 3-1 victory at Elland Road.

Both sides went into the match desperate for three points, as they looked to pull clear of the drop zone.

However, there was only ever one clear winner, with Leeds 2-0 up at half-time, before adding a third early in the second period.

While Forest did manage to pull a goal back through Lorenzo Lucca, it was too little too late, with Sean Dyche now under serious pressure at the City Ground.

Now, with West Ham having the potential to move within three points of Nottingham Forest on Saturday, many fans are calling for Dyche to be sacked after Friday’s embarrassment.

Full-time. pic.twitter.com/nuwyKICmqn

— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) February 6, 2026

Nottingham Forest fans call for Sean Dyche to be sacked

Dyche has long been on thin ice at the City Ground.

The manager’s long-ball tactics and defensive style of football have done little to win over fans as they look to avoid the drop.

While many have put up with this for the meantime as they creep closer to safety, there is now a real manager Forest could go down, especially with West Ham hitting form.

As a result, after the twist of the Leeds defeat, many have seen enough and are calling for Dyche to be sacked to save their season.

It was a dyche masterclass of inept tactics and incorrect player choice. The clown show continues

— opinionated old bloke (@matt05694053981) February 7, 2026

Has Edu and Dyche been sacked yet? @mil7iadis #NFFC?

— Daniel R Evans (@DRE93___) February 7, 2026

Dyche is genuinely the worst manager in the league. There’s no doubt in mind

— Wiklo (@adamwiklo) February 6, 2026

Outplayed, outfought, outmanoeuvred. Take away boom ball and crosses and Dyche is a pathetically inept coach, incapable of devising attacking patterns. Embarrassing performance. Sack him #NFFC pic.twitter.com/bytDbtKYzV

— CB (@Chris78901) February 6, 2026

Many supporters now believe that relegation to the Championship is inevitable unless Dyche is removed from his position.

My initial reaction is to blame Dyche, week in week out i’m underwhelmed by his tactics. But am i shocked? no Was this to be expected? yes. You have to follow the trail, the players were awful tonight but who put them on the pitch? Dyche and his team. But who hired them?…#NFFC

— forest – new account (@forest157104) February 7, 2026

If Dyche stays relegation is real

— blah blah (@NickKallipolits) February 7, 2026

Pin it, save it, bookmark it. We will go down under Dyche. Nailed on. He’s clueless, has no Plan B (Questionable Plan A) – get him gone. #nffc

— Mitchell_NFFC (@Mitchell_NFFC) February 7, 2026

What did the stats say about Leeds vs Nottingham Forest?

Unfortunately for Dyche, the stats are not kind to Nottingham Forest from the Leeds defeat.

According to BBC Sport on 7 February, they substantially lost the possession battle, with just 43.6 per cent.

On top of this, they had a lower xG at 1.13 compared to Leeds’ 2.5, and while they did have more shots at 16, they failed to make the Peacocks pay with their efforts.

Therefore, when the Reds were so heavily outplayed, it is easy to see why fans are beginning to turn out Dyche, when they are unable to put in a competitive display against a relegation rival.

With Forest set to host Wolves on Wednesday, the match could be make or break for Dyche, and if he doesn’t deliver three points against the bottom side, it could be curtains.